New York City has often been on the forefront of architectural ingenuity. Concurrently, many of the City’s notable buildings were inspired by Old World  architecture. Presented below, the second part of our series provides a survey of New York City buildings and their Italian inspirations (Part I: France, Part II: Italy). The authorities differ on the authenticity of some of these claims, after comparing them let us know what you think.

1. Parthenon/Federal Hall

Completed in 432 BC, the Parthenon was a temple dedicated to Athena. In 1687, while being used as a gunpowder magazine, a  Venetian  mortar hit the Parthenon, partially destroying it. At the turn of the nineteenth-century,  Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin and 11th Earl of Kincardine, purchased many of the Parthenon’s remaining sculptures and sculptural groups from the Ottomans who were in control of Greece at the time. They are now on display at the British Museum.

The Parthenon served as an inspiration for the exterior of Federal Hall. Additionally, casts of the Elgin marbles can been viewed at the  Onassis Cultural Center.

Federal Hall  was the site of  George Washington’s  inauguration